Momentum is building around efforts to reform Nigeria’s cross-border payment landscape, as the Africa Stablecoin Network (ASN) has endorsed recent calls by Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for faster, cheaper and more inclusive international transactions.
Speaking at the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four Technical Groups Meeting, Cardoso highlighted persistent inefficiencies in global payment systems, particularly for developing economies. He noted that cross-border remittance corridors still cost more than six per cent on average, with settlement delays stretching several days and compliance requirements that often exclude micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Against this backdrop, ASN said stablecoins and blockchain-based payment infrastructure could significantly reduce transaction costs and settlement times if supported by a clear, harmonised regulatory framework.
Stablecoins as a Practical Solution
According to ASN President Nathaniel Luz, stablecoins represent more than a speculative asset class in Africa.
“While stablecoins are a luxury for the West, they are a lifeline for Africa. For our continent, the conversation is not about speculation; it is about solving real payment and trade problems,” Luz stated.
The network estimates that cross-border transfers currently taking two to five days could be completed within minutes using stablecoin rails. It further argued that remittance fees of five to seven per cent under traditional systems could drop below one per cent with blockchain-enabled settlement, offering meaningful savings for households and businesses.
Such efficiency gains, ASN noted, would particularly benefit MSMEs by improving liquidity, accelerating supplier payments and deepening participation in intra-African commerce under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.
Regulation Over Resistance
While acknowledging concerns raised by the CBN regarding currency substitution, foreign exchange volatility and systemic stability, ASN maintained that these risks can be mitigated through thoughtful regulation rather than postponing innovation.
The group pointed to the Investment and Securities Act 2025, which empowers the Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria (SEC) to oversee digital assets, as an important milestone in providing legal clarity.
Quoting SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama at the Nigeria Stablecoin Summit 1.0, ASN reiterated that Nigeria is open to stablecoin innovation “on terms that protect our markets and empower Nigerians.” The commission’s regulatory sandbox, it added, continues to attract domestic and international fintech interest.
ASN also referenced the CBN’s Payments System Vision 2025 as a potential platform for collaboration between the apex bank and the SEC, suggesting that coordinated oversight could enable stablecoin deployment within a secure regulatory perimeter.
Safeguarding Monetary Sovereignty
Addressing fears about the naira’s stability, Luz argued that a regulated framework would enhance transparency and formalise currently informal financial flows.
“When stablecoins operate within a clear Nigerian regulatory framework, transactions become more transparent, value flows are easier to monitor, and economic activity that currently sits outside formal channels is brought into the system,” he said.
He added that the greater risk lies in regulatory inertia, warning that countries which delay engagement may forfeit influence over the evolving architecture of global finance.
Call for Coordinated National Strategy
The network concluded by urging a unified approach that aligns the roles of the CBN, SEC, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission and other relevant agencies. Such coordination, it argued, would ensure innovation progresses alongside robust safeguards.
“The way forward is not hesitation but coordination, clarity and forward-thinking regulation,” Luz said. “By bringing its regulatory institutions together under a unified framework, Nigeria can turn today’s payment challenges into tomorrow’s economic advantage.”
As digital assets increasingly intersect with mainstream finance, the debate in Nigeria appears to be shifting from whether stablecoins should exist to how they should be governed — a conversation likely to shape the country’s role in the future of global payments.